One of the potentially big movies up for grabs at this year's Cannes Film Festival is a 3D relaunch of the 2000 A.D. character Judge Dredd in a new movie directed by Pete Travis (Vantage Point) from screenplay by Alex Garland (28 Days Later). There was word a few years back that there was a new Judge Dredd movie in development at 20th Century Fox with artist Jock, co-creator of The Losers, being involved in the production art, but with Fox out of the picture, producer Andrew Macdonald's DNA Films has been joined by Indian financier Reliance Big to move the project forward.

Previously Sylvester Stallone played Dredd in a 1995 dud directed by Danny Cannon which grossed $113.5 million worldwide, but was considered a bomb due to its $70 million plus budget.

MacDonald and co. plan on returning to the original comics, created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, for reference on the movie that's reported to cost under $50 million.

Earlier this week, it was announced that a 3D adaptation of Judge Dredd is moving ahead. We now have the official press release, which includes more information regarding the production:

Reliance BIG Pictures, together with IM Global, the international sales company that Reliance acquired only last week, will finance DNA’s 3D production of JUDGE DREDD, a $45 million film adaptation of the iconic 2000 AD comic-book character created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra.

Filming will take place over the fourth quarter of 2010 in Johannesburg.

JUDGE DREDD is being made by the writer/producer partnership behind The Beach, 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, Sunshine, and Never Let Me Go. Alex Garland, Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich will produce a script written by Garland.

Pete Travis, director of Omagh, Vantage Point, and Endgame will direct. Wagner will be a creative consultant on the film.

Said John Wagner: 'Alex Garland’s script is faithful to the original concept that made Judge Dredd a favourite bad-ass hero. It’s a high-octane slay ride through the dark underbelly of the vast future city. A fan pleaser. With their track record, I have every faith in Alex Garland, Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich.'

Said Alex Garland: 'I grew up reading Judge Dredd. The incredible writers and artists of 2000 AD were formative influences on me. Andrew, Allon and I have developed this adaptation of Judge Dredd with an emphasis on adrenaline and realism, but with all the scale and spectacle of Mega-City One. We think Pete’s propulsive, edgy style is a perfect match for the project.'

The deal was negotiated on behalf of Reliance by IM Global CEO Stuart Ford assisted by attorneys Strook and Strook with DNA principals Macdonald and Reich, DNA head of business affairs Jo Smith, and Miles Ketley of Wiggin & Co. Ford’s IM Global will handle international sales on the project.

A few weeks back, there were murmurings out of Comic-Con that the new Judge Dredd had been cast and that it would be none other than New Zealand's own Karl Urban ("Bones" McCoy from Star Trek with upcoming comic movies Red and Priest). Empire Online has gotten confirmation from the film's producers Andrew MacDonald and Allon Reich, who were asked about it during a Q 'n' A at the first Movie-Con, currently taking place in London. MacDonald confirmed the casting reported as a scoop by Bleeding Cool's Rich Johnston last month.

Here's what else MacDonald said about the project during the Q 'n' A:

“The main thing about Dredd is that it’s a fantastic comic that was completely messed up 20 years ago. Our idea is to make a very hard, R-rated, gritty, realistic movie of Dredd in Megacity, so we’ve got to get the tone right. He’s not going to take off his helmet. His bike is going to feel real. He’s going to hit people and it’s going to feel real. There’s been a change in comic-book movies; they were treated unseriously and now they’re treated seriously."

Director Pete Travis (Vantage Point) will begin shooting Judge Dredd in Johannesburg, South Africa with the same people who made Neill Blomkamp's District 9 later this year.

Thirlby will play Judge Cassandra Anderson, a psychically powered rookie Judge who teams with Judge Joe Dredd (Karl Urban) for training. Set in a dystopian future, the British comic book adaptation focuses on a police force given the power to act as judge, jury and executioner to whomsoever they perceive to be part of the criminal element.

In the 2000 A.D. comic book series (within which, Judge Dredd is a recurring story), Anderson goes on to lead the city's Psi Division, maintaining an uneasy friendship with Dredd.

Judge Dredd will be directed by Pete Travis with a script by Alex Garland. It was previously adapted into a film in 1995 with Sylvester Stallone in the lead. The character of Judge Anderson did not appear in that iteration of that franchise.

IM Global has posted more info on the new Judge Dredd film to be titled Dredd:

DREDD takes us to the wild streets of Mega City One, the lone oasis of quasi-civilization on Cursed Earth. Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is the most feared of elite Street Judges, with the power to enforce the law, sentence offenders and execute them on the spot - if necessary. The endlessly inventive mind of writer Alex Garland and the frenetic vision of director Peter Travis bring DREDD to life as a futuristic neo-noir action film that returns the celebrated character to the dark, visceral incarnation from John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra's revered comic strip.

It was announced on Friday that Olivia Thirlby will play Judge Cassandra Anderson, a psychically powered rookie Judge who teams with Judge Dredd for training.

Toronto Film Festival is the place to be for Mega-City One's famed cop.

September 14, 2010

by Scott Collura

The planned re-do on Judge Dredd has just gotten one step closer to reality, with the project nabbing over $30 million in foreign pre-sales at the Toronto Film Festival this week.

Variety reports that IM Global, the sales company for DNA Films' Dredd (the new picture will not have "Judge" in the title), has made the biggest deal at the festival so far. The $45 3D million adaptation of the Brit Comic -- scheduled to start shooting in South Africa in November -- has seen "brisk" sales this week. Pete Travis (Vantage Point) will direct and Karl Urban (Star Trek) will star.

The picture has now sold to 90% of the world as a result of its exposure at the festival, with a domestic deal expected to also happen within days.

The trade paper notes that this is a new trend at Toronto, which is increasingly becoming the place for pre-sales. IM Global has also done "substantial" business at the festival for the Barry Levinson sci-fi film The Bay. But most importantly, soon we may actually be able to wash the Sly Stallone version of Dredd from our memories forever.

Variety reports that Lionsgate has picked up the U.S. distribution rights to the new 3D Judge Dredd movie starring Karl Urban in the title role and Olivia Thirlby as Judge Anderson.

The $45 million 3D adaptation of the Brit comic is scheduled to start shooting in South Africa in November. Here's the official plot synopsis:

"Dredd takes us to the wild streets of Mega City One, the lone oasis of quasi-civilization on Cursed Earth. Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is the most feared of elite Street Judges, with the power to enforce the law, sentence offenders and execute them on the spot - if necessary. The endlessly inventive mind of writer Alex Garland and the frenetic vision of director Pete Travis bring Dredd to life as a futuristic neo-noir action film that returns the celebrated character to the dark, visceral incarnation from John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra's revered comic strip."

While there's already a lot of excitement for all the superhero movies coming out in 2011, one project that has remained relatively low-key is the return of 2000 AD star Judge Dredd in the Pete (Vantage Point) Travis-directed Dredd, starring Karl Urban as Mega City One's brutal enforcer. The 3D movie is about to start production with Lionsgate planning to release it once it's done.

Artist Jock, who has drawn Judge Dredd in the comics as well as being the concept artist for the movie, shared the picture below which gives us our first look at Karl Urban as Judge Dredd, helmet and all, from rehearsals.

Let us know what you think about how the new Dredd looks compared to Sylvester Stallone's take on the character from the 1995 movie... or instead, we can just pretend that movie never happened and hold out hope for this new one.

Some behind-the-scenes photos have emerged from the set of the upcoming Dredd, courtesy of Bleeding Cool.

Based on the popular Judge Dredd storyline that ran in the British comic book anthology 2000 A.D. , Dredd stars Karl Urban as a member of the elite law enforcement of the futuristic Mega City One, teamed with Olivia Thirlby as Judge Anderson.

The photos below, snapped at the film's South African set, provide a first look at some of the set and vehicle designs for the neo-noir world of the film. Click here for more photos at Bleeding Cool.

It was first reported by JudgeDreddMovieNews.com, and later confirmed by The Playlist, that Lena Headey has been cast as the main villain and gang leader, Madeline Madrigal (AKA "Ma-Ma") in Dredd.

Headey ("Game of Thrones," "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," 300) joins Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby in the Pete Travis-directed movie, written by Alex Garland and currently filming in South Africa.

Dredd takes us to the wild streets of Mega City One, the lone oasis of quasi-civilization on Cursed Earth. Judge Dredd (Urban) is the most feared of elite Street Judges, with the power to enforce the law, sentence offenders and execute them on the spot - if necessary.

Judge Dredd creator John Wagner has returned from a visit to the Cape Town set of the upcoming film adaptation, Dredd, and shared, via his Facebook page, a number of interesting details about the production.

"The film occupies all four giant buildings at the new Cape Town Studios," he reports, "Sets looked great - grim! ... What I saw... was very Mega-City. South Africa's got something of Mega-City about it in any case. On the morning I was supposed to do an interview with a reporter from Time Magazine I got a text from the studio: 'Time reporter has been mugged - interview is cancelled.'..."

Wagner also discusses the scope of the picture, one that he admits he had problems with in the beginning.

"[Screenwriter] Alex Garland and I have had our disagreements," he says, "but he has usually had a convincing argument for doing things his way. On the main issue, concentrating the plot on a slice of life rather than trying to convey the whole sweep of Dredd and Mega-City life, I now see that he's right. It was one of the flaws of the first movie, they tried to do too much... Plenty of attention's been given to the script already and of course everything at the moment is a little fluid, so where rewriting has to be done it gets done."

As for the cast, Wagner has nothing but tremendous praise.

"Very pleased with what I saw of Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby," he writes, "Both excellent in their roles and work well as a team.... I just had a brief conversation with Karl, he's much too hard at work to spare a lot of time. There was one shot where the camera focused in on his face, a reaction to Anderson, and I swear Carlos could have drawn that scowl... Karl, when he's acting (and even when he's not!), IS Judge Dredd....Karl's got many voices and he certainly gets the gruffness and authority in Dredd's. Pete's pretty clued up on Dredd, as are many of the crew, being old-time 2000AD readers. I was surprised by how many had an in depth knowledge of and love for the character. That was very gratifying."

Other, more specific details, go into the set and costume choices.

"[T]he uniform doesn't look like a muscle suit," he adds, "It is very believable.... The uniform was still fairly paramilitary ... but it works for me... Only got to see a partial shell of a lawmaster, so can't really comment, but did handle a lawgiver. Looked good... I saw them setting up a lot of stuff for SFX but didn't get to see the final result. While in the FX dept a huge explosion went off - practically jumped out of my skin. Max the tech trying to figure out how to explode a lawgiver without killing the actor using it!"

Ultimately, Wagner's thoughts should serve to exited fans of Dredd and the "2000 A.D." comics.

"[The] entire crew [is] really dedicated and determined to produce a damned good movie," he says, "Sadly I had to leave before I could see them shooting any ultra-vi. Extremely impressed by the 3-D - apart from the demo at Universal Studios in LA, my memories were of the feeble efforts I saw as a youth. This is a real quantum leap from that, really adds depth. This is going to be good."

2000 AD Online has posted this new photo from the set of Dredd featuring Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) riding his lawmaster bike.

The Pete Travis-directed sci-fi action adventure co-stars Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey. Dredd takes us to the wild streets of Mega City One, the lone oasis of quasi-civilization on Cursed Earth. Judge Dredd is the most feared of elite Street Judges, with the power to enforce the law, sentence offenders and execute them on the spot - if necessary.

Bleeding Cool has posted this new image of Karl Urban in Dredd, the Pete Travis-directed adaptation also starring Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey.

Dredd takes us to the wild streets of Mega City One, the lone oasis of quasi-civilization on Cursed Earth. Judge Dredd (Urban) is the most feared of elite Street Judges, with the power to enforce the law, sentence offenders and execute them on the spot - if necessary.

Arriving in theaters later this year, Lionsgate's Dredd re-adapts the "Judge Dredd" comic from the pages of "2000 A.D." with Karl Urban donning the iconic helmet, starring alongside Olivia Thirlby as Judge Anderson. Today, The L.A. Times spoke with John Wagner who, in 1977, created the character alongside artist Carlos Ezquerra.

"'Dredd' homes in on the essential job of judging," says Wagner of the new film's plot. "Instant justice in a violent future city... The plot is about Dredd and his world. It’s impossible to cover every aspect of the character and his city. Perhaps that was one of the failings of the first film. They tried to do too much and ended up with not a lot."

The previous take on the property hit theaters in 1995 and featured Sylvester Stallone in the lead. That version was neither a critical nor box office success, but Wagner promises that the upcoming film won't make the same mistakes.

"My views haven’t changed," he explains, "though apart from my initial viewing I haven’t seen the film since it came out. They told the wrong story. It didn’t have that much to do with Dredd the character as we know him. I don’t think Stallone was a bad Dredd, though it would have been better and lent him more cred if he hadn’t revealed his face. He was just Dredd in the wrong story. I envy their budget, though. Some of the CGI was very good, and the re-creations of the Angel Gang and the robot. The robot actually came from a Pat Mills story and didn’t belong in Dredd, but it looked good. If the plot had revolved around characters like them the film would have been more successful."

Optimistic about the cast of the new version, Wagner says that Dredd will stay true to his creation.

"I like the actors," he says. "They’re well cast and they handled their parts well. Olivia Thirlby is perfect as Anderson, the young psi judge. She gives the character a touching vulnerability. Karl Urban will not remove his helmet and will not kiss his costar."

Total Film magazine (via Stark Industries) is featuring this new photo of Karl Urban as Dredd in its February issue. Opening in 3D and 2D theaters on September 21, the Peter Travis-directed adaptation also stars Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey.

The Lionsgate release takes us to the wild streets of Mega City One, the lone oasis of quasi-civilization on Cursed Earth. Judge Dredd is the most feared of elite Street Judges, with the power to enforce the law, sentence offenders and execute them on the spot - if necessary. The film is based on the John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra comic.